If you went on a culinary tour of the world in Amsterdam, you’d spend weeks, if not months, before arriving ‘back home’ again. The options to choose from are plentiful. However, only a number of restaurants are active in the gastronomic jubilance spectrum.

Free entrance with the Museum Card

Have you always wanted to look closely at an original painting by Rembrandt? Or to discover the world’s largest collection of works by Van Gogh? Amsterdam boasts an array of interesting museums, including many that are world famous. If you are thinking of visiting a couple of museums in Amsterdam, we would recommend that you buy a Museum Card (Museumkaart).

The Must-Visit Bars & Restaurants In Amsterdam

Amsterdam offers many world-class restaurants and bars that you must visit. The city, which boasts one of Europe’s largest trading ports, has accumulated cultural and culinary influences from all around the globe throughout the years.

Amsterdam Bridges

Water is inextricably linked with Amsterdam, to cross all these canals and rivers, the city has about 1700 bridges.

SAIL Amsterdam 2015 – the largest nautical event in the world

Every five years SAIL Amsterdam takes place. This means that in August 2015 a fleet of Tall Ships from all over the world will come to the IJ harbour and everybody is welcome to visit them. During the four day exhibition many other cultural events and maritime-themed entertainment will take place both on the water and on the wharfs.

Amsterdam gets a dose of Ibizan magic: Pacha Festival is back in town this May

The spirit and style of Ibiza returns to Amsterdam for the third time with the popular Pacha Festival on 17 May, 2014. Get ready for music, entertainment and hippie market fun at Java Eiland from 12:00 to 23:00.

Does Dutch cuisine exist?

Some food is famous worldwide, like pizza and pasta, and often we get the question: what is typical Dutch food? Traditionally, Dutch cuisine is simple with vegetables, potatoes and meat or fish. Nowadays, mostly thanks to all the different nationalities in the Netherlands, we eat more cosmopolitan and 'exotic'. Italian and Asian food is especially popular, but our cuisine has been also influenced by the former Dutch colony of Indonesia. The Dutch even eat their French fries with peanut sauce! Or with a combination of mayonnaise and peanut sauce, called ‘patatje oorlog’ (French fries war). Some Indonesian food is so integrated into the Netherlands that a lot of people see nasi, bami and peanut sauce/satay sauce as typical Dutch food.

De Parade

A travelling tent festival of theater and more, De Parade, happens among four major Dutch cities, transforming public spaces into lively summer, circus stages. These theater, dance, and music performances provide some rare artistic displays, such as antique whirligigs made of miniature wheels. Inventing light, exciting scenes for a charitable cause is the ultimate purpose of De Parade. There is even a day program given for kids. Lasting from August 9th - 25th in Amsterdam’s Martin Luther King Park, food stands line the park to offer culinary delights that complement the frolicking festivities. With 74 performances, 19 children shows and 35 bands, this event truly has something for all to value. So bring the kids along for a full family outing!

More about De Parade
The Netherlands Theatre Festival

During September 5th - 15th, Amsterdam hosts the Dutch thespian event of the year, the Netherlands Theater festival, resulting in a retrospective summary of Holland’s ten best stage productions of the season. The festival also includes presenting the very prestigious Theater Prize for best production along with the Golden Cricket award for the best children's play. Coinciding with the Netherlands Theater Festival, the Amsterdam Fringe Festival supports all types of theater appreciators. This span of early September is where theatrical focuses intermingle and refined amazements appear each day.

Jewish monuments in Amsterdam

Since centuries most of the Dutch Jews have lived in Amsterdam. There are for example still a lot of ‘Jiddisj’ words in the Amsterdam dialect. The Jews contributed to the prosperity of Amsterdam, to the establishment of the Dutch West Indies Company, and to the Dutch Golden Age. Before World War II, 10% of the population in Amsterdam was Jewish, which meant about 80,000 people – but only 20% of them survived the Holocaust, though. The most well-known victim in Amsterdam is the Jewish girl named Anne Frank, who wrote her world-famous diary while in hiding. Her hiding place in the Secret Annex is a museum, called the Anne Frank House, situated in the centre of Amsterdam at Prinsengracht 263-267.